What are the best and worst days to trade forex? (2024)

The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, so there are opportunities to trade anytime. However, certain days generally have better trading opportunities than others. This article will outline which days have better chances of making profits and which are more difficult.

Days with good chances of earning forex profits

Tuesday to Thursday

Tuesday to Thursday are usually the best days to trade forex for many reasons. The first reason is that market volatility is high, and there are consistently profitable trading opportunities for all types of traders. Consistent volatility gives traders confidence to focus on the market and be ready to execute their trading strategy.

The second reason is that traders are most likely to be focused on trading and motivated from Tuesday to Thursday. Traders increasingly understand the importance of the mental side of trading and its impact on their performance. The great advantage of trading forex is the chance to make large profits quickly; Tuesday to Thursday usually presents many opportunities.

The final reason is that the risk of rapid moves in one direction reduces due to the many active traders from Tuesday to Thursday. However, on Monday and Friday, forex prices can move very quickly in one direction, making it more challenging to manage your risk.

What are the best and worst days to trade forex? (1)

Day after an important economic announcement

The day after a significant economic announcement can present many trading opportunities. If the news release was surprising, the forex price trend could continue the following day. Alternatively, if the market panicked and overreacted, there could be a great trading opportunity to trade against the trend.

Days which can be harder to earn forex profits

Large economic announcements

The forex market can be quiet on trading days before a big economic announcement like a US inflation figure or US monetary policy statement. This is because traders prefer to wait until the announcement before taking positions so forex prices can move sideways, making it challenging to extend profitable trades. However, there can be profitable opportunities for traders who are patient when the forex market moves significantly in one direction, as the market is likely to reverse ahead of the economic announcement.

Following the economic announcement, forex prices can move exceptionally quickly, and only experienced traders are usually successful at consistently earning profits. Therefore, it is usually best for most traders to wait at least 30 minutes after the economic announcement to trade.

Market holidays

US holidays have the most impact on the market and usually result in the Asian and European sessions being quieter than usual. Therefore, avoiding trading the European or US sessions on US holidays is usually best, as fewer profitable trading opportunities exist.

Japanese or Chinese holidays will usually make the European open quieter but have little impact on forex market volatility afterward so that you can trade the European and US sessions as usual.

What are the best and worst days to trade forex? (2)Mondays

Monday is usually the quietest day of the week. Many traders want to take their time analyzing the market, and usually, there are few economic releases on a Monday. However, occasionally news over the weekend can make the Asian open active, producing profitable trading opportunities.

Traders should ensure they are prepared to trade on a Monday and not still thinking about the weekend. One poor trade can lead to further losses making it challenging to recover and end the week with a profit.

Fridays

Fridays usually have high volatility and can be the most volatile day of the week. The difficulty with trading on a Friday is traders can be tired after a long week of trading and make poor decisions. In addition, the forex market can move much more quickly than the rest of the week on a Friday, making it more difficult to execute your trading strategy.

Traders who have made losses that week will likely take large risks to try and end the week with a profit. Conversely, those traders who have made good profits can become too scared of losing and make poor trades. Both traders can get into a negative spiral of chasing losses. Therefore, it is vital to only trade on a Friday when you are calm and can focus on the market rather than worrying about your account balance.

On the first Friday of the month, the US employment figures typically result in a significant move for all forex markets. However, as detailed above, trading on a critical economic release day can be difficult. Therefore, traders should be well prepared for large market moves and understand the impact of the employment figures to make sound trading decisions.

Friday`s can be very profitable for those traders who can adapt their trading strategy to the market. In addition, those traders who understand the market patterns are slightly different on a Friday can earn large profits.

Traders who can adapt their trading strategy to different days of the week are rare. Analyze your past performance on different days of the week, and you will likely find particular days you are profitable. There is no reason to trade every day. It is much better to trade more when you are most successful and rest when you struggle to find profitable trades.

What are the best and worst days to trade forex? (2024)

FAQs

What are the best and worst days to trade forex? ›

Tuesday to Thursday are usually the best days to trade forex for many reasons. The first reason is that market volatility is high, and there are consistently profitable trading opportunities for all types of traders.

What are the worse days to trade forex? ›

The middle of the week typically shows the most movement, as the pip range widens for most of the major currency pairs. Saturdays and Sundays tend to be the least favourable days for trading forex. Most traders tend to avoid trading forex during holidays and around major news events.

Which days are best to trade forex? ›

All in all, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the best days for Forex trading due to higher volatility. During the middle of the week, the currency market sees the most trading action. As for the rest of the week, Mondays are static, and Fridays can be unpredictable.

Which day is bad for trading? ›

The very idea of opening a new trade before the week-end, during which a trader cannot do anything apart from watching the news, should put him on his guard. Now you know that Monday and Friday are bad days for trading and the latter is worse than the former.

What is the best forex day trading strategy? ›

Top 5 forex day trading strategies
  • Trend trading.
  • Swing trading.
  • Scalping.
  • Mean reversion.
  • Money flows.

What days should you not trade forex? ›

Market Reasons not to trade:
  • Bank Holidays. These are scheduled and there is nothing you can do about it. ...
  • News. There are scheduled news releases and economic news throughout any given day. ...
  • Speeches. ...
  • Erratic Periods. ...
  • Weekends. ...
  • Market close/open. ...
  • December and Summer Holidays.

Why you shouldn t trade forex on friday? ›

Trading on Fridays provides an opportunity for high reward but that also comes with a high risk. There are some reasons why you shouldn't trade on Friday: 1) Large gaps when the market opens 2) Higher spreads 3) Bad market conditions.

Why not trade on Monday? ›

It's called the Monday effect or the weekend effect. Anecdotally, traders say the stock market has had a tendency to drop on Mondays. Some people think this is because a significant amount of bad news is often released over the weekend.

What is the bad month for forex trading? ›

The forex calendar is divided into three periods of volatility. Out of these three periods, only two offer the best trading conditions. In June, July and August, volatility slows down due to the summer season, making it the worst time to trade forex.

Is it better to trade forex at night? ›

Night trading on the forex markets has advantages for new traders as volatility tends to be lower and for experienced traders using scalping or automatic trading strategies that tend to work well with less volatility.

What is the 3-5-7 rule in trading? ›

The 3–5–7 rule in trading is a risk management principle that suggests allocating a certain percentage of your trading capital to different trades based on their risk levels. Here's how it typically works: 3% Rule: This suggests risking no more than 3% of your trading capital on any single trade.

What is the 11am rule in trading? ›

It is not a hard and fast rule, but rather a guideline that has been observed by many traders over the years. The logic behind this rule is that if the market has not reversed by 11 am EST, it is less likely to experience a significant trend reversal during the remainder of the trading day.

When to avoid trade? ›

If the profit potential is similar to or lower than the risk, by all means avoid the trade. That may mean doing all this work only to realize you shouldn't take the trade. Avoiding bad trades is just as important to success as participating in favorable ones.

How to make 50 pips a day in forex? ›

Focus on the pending order and place a stop-loss. If it is a buy order, the stop-loss should be placed 5 to 10 pips below the 7 am candle's low. If it is a sell order, 5 to 10 pips above the 7 am candle's high. In both cases, your take-profit would be 50 pips above (buy order) or below (sell order) the order.

How many times a day should I trade forex? ›

While there is no set limit on the number of hours you can trade forex, it is important to consider time restrictions when planning your trading schedule. For example, if you have a full-time job or other commitments, you may only have a few hours per day to dedicate to trading.

What are the slow days for forex? ›

Therefore, due to high volatility, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the best forex trading days. Midweek experiences high trading activities, while Monday is the slowest trade forex day. Fridays are the most unpredictable and thus require forex trading timings.

What is the busiest time for forex trading? ›

And during both summer and winter from 8:00 AM-12:00 PM ET, the London session and the New York session overlap. Naturally, these are the busiest times during the trading day because there is more volume when two markets are open at the same time.

When to avoid trading? ›

Making Money By Sitting On Your Hands – 10 Situations When Not To Trade
  1. When you have to think about the trade. ...
  2. When you don't know where your stop goes. ...
  3. If the market does not favor your system. ...
  4. When you want to “catch up” ...
  5. When you think that markets are “too high” or “too low”

What is the best day of the week to exchange currency? ›

Typically, the least busy times of the week are Mondays, mid-week and the weekend (excluding Friday). These days have the lowest number of transfers in the week, so you might expect to see less fluctuation in the mid-market rate.

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